唱 (chàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to sing”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 昌 (flourishing; prosperous), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to sing”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
口 + 昌
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：唱，导也。从口，昌声
Memory aid
A mouth (口) on the left, and 昌 (chāng) on the right. The mouth tells you it is something you do with your voice; 昌 carries the sound: chāng → chàng. Open your mouth and let the sound out — sing!
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 唱歌chàng gēto sing (a song)唱 = chàng
- 哼唱hēng chàngto hum; to sing softly唱 = chàng
Go deeper
All readings
to sing
to sing; to call out loudly; song
按照乐律发出声音；高声叫。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 唱歌chàng gēto sing (a song)唱 = chàng
- 哼唱hēng chàngto hum; to sing softly唱 = chàng
Sound component
昌 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 唱 mean?
唱 (chàng) means to sing; to call out loudly; song.
How do you pronounce 唱?
It is pronounced chàng.
What parts is 唱 made of?
口 (mouth) and 昌 (flourishing; prosperous), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：唱，导也。从口，昌声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 唱 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 唱?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 唱?
Common ones are 唱歌 and 哼唱. The reading of 唱 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.